The collection consists of correspondence of railroad historian and author Arthur Detmers Dubin. Most of the 130 letters are to or from Lucius M. Beebe. Both letters received and carbon copies of letters sent by Mr. Dubin are contained in the collection. The letters relate largely to the selection and exchange of photographs for Mr. Beebe's books Narrow Gauge in the Rockies, Mr. Pullman's Elegant Palace Car, Rio Grande: Mainline of the Rockies, and The Central Pacific & the Southern Pacific Railroads. In addition, the collection contains some photocopies of typescript captions for photographs, galley and printers proofs, cuts and advertising material for Mr. Pullman's Elegant Palace Car. The letters in the collection are arranged in chronological order and contain both incoming and outgoing correspondence. The captions, proofs and advertising material follow the letters.

Arthur Detmers Dubin, noted railroad historian and writer, is the author of Some Classic Trains (1964), More Classic Trains(1974), and Pullman Paint and Lettering Notebook: A Guide to the Colors used on Pullman Cars from 1933 to 1969 (1997). He is also a collector of Pullman and passenger train memorabilia. By profession an architect, he retired from the Chicago firm of Dubin, Dubin & Moutoussamy. His knowledge of transportation was important in the firm's successful undertaking of projects for the Washington (D.C.) Metro, the Chicago & North Western Railway, the Chicago Transit Authority, and American Airlines. He has served on numerous advisory boards and commissions in passenger transportation.

Copyright has not been assigned to the California State Railroad Museum. All requests for permission to publish or quote from manuscripts must be submitted in writing to the Senior Curator. Permission for publication is given on behalf of the CSRM as the owner of the physical items and is not intended to include or imply permission of the copyright holder, which must also be obtained by the reader.